Clinton calls for reconciliation in Libya

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (R) talks with with Libyan Transitional National Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil (C) and Libyan Transitional National Council Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril during a walk to the Elysee Palace on September 1, 2011 in Paris. PHOTO: AFP

PARIS: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Libya’s interim leaders on Thursday to seek reconciliation not retribution after their victory over Muammar Qaddafi and pledged support for the transition to democracy.

Clinton said NATO’s military campaign should continue as long as civilians are under threat, but said UN sanctions should be lifted in a responsible way and the new leaders should be given Libya’s UN seat.

“The work does not end with the end of an oppressive regime,” Clinton told an international meeting in Paris on Libya’s future.

“Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows. What happens in the coming days will be critical.”